MAMMOTH

Mammoth is another Beardfish album that I'm on the fence with. There is decently strong material here as well as weak material. After hearing it, I immediately knew that "The Platform" was a song that I really didn't enjoy. It has interesting moments, particularly within the beginning, but the rest of the track has a very tired and boring sound. They've started to regress in their ability to write nice melodies. However, "And the Stone Said: If I Could Speak" is one very fine track on this album that does contain the very Beardfish-type dark melodies that initially drew me to this band. The composition is great, and manages to be long while being interesting. "Tightrope" is a slightly poppy song with one of the best melodies by Beardfish in recent memory. The only other track that became of interest to me was the jazzy King Crimson inspired saxophone dominated track "Akakabotu" which is fantastic. Very mellow parts intertwine with energetic passages, and all of the musicianship on this track is superb. I recommend this to Beardfish fans even though the remaining tracks seem like throwaways in my opinion.